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Officials: Generator use led to city man's carbon monoxide death

Crews still trying to figure out why Keene Avenue victim was using device

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Updated: 7:15 AM EDT Sep 10, 2013

Officials: Generator use led to city man's carbon monoxide death

Crews still trying to figure out why Keene Avenue victim was using device

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Updated: 7:15 AM EDT Sep 10, 2013

BALTIMORE —

City fire officials want to know why a northeast Baltimore man who was found dead inside his house was using a generator, which they determined led to his death.

Fire officials said the man's wife and children found him unconscious in the basement of their home along the 3600 block of Keene Avenue on Monday evening. Officials said the man, who hasn't been identified, hooked up a generator due to intermittent power outages in his neighborhood.

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However, Baltimore Gas and Electric officials said they have no record of an outage on Keene Avenue on Monday.

Fire crews said they took carbon monoxide detectors into the house and got a reading of 1,300 parts per million in the basement where the man was found, which is a lethal dose of the gas.

"Anything 100 (ppm) and above, we make them evacuate. Sustained levels between 150-200 parts per million bring on flu-like symptoms, nausea, vomiting and dizziness, and then sustained levels at that 150-200 parts per million bring on unconsciousness and eventually death," explained Assistant Fire Chief Mark Wagner.

He said he hopes the man's death will remind homeowners that generators can only be used safely outside and that carbon monoxide poisoning can come on so quickly with cold-like symptoms that are so subtle that many victims never realize they're suffering.

"Do not use generators in homes. Stoves and furnaces this time of year, make sure you check them because we want to prevent any life loss in the future," said Fire Chief Jeffrey Segal.

It's unclear how long the generator was running. Officials are still investigating.